MedicineWorld.Org: Archive page

Psychological interventions associated with breast cancer survival

A new study finds that patients with breast cancer who participate in intervention sessions focusing on improving mood, coping effectively, and altering health behaviors live longer than patients who do not receive such psychological support. Reported in the December 15, 2008 issue of CANCER, a peer-evaluated journal of the American Cancer Society, the study indicates that reducing the stress that can accompany cancer diagnosis and therapy can........Go to the Breast-cancer-blog (Added on 11/17/2008 10:16:12 PM)

How the brain takes care of things

Thanks to our ability to learn and to remember, we can perform tasks that other living things can not even dream of. However, we are only just beginning to get the gist of what really goes on in the brain when it learns or forgets something. What we do know is that changes in the contacts between nerve cells play an important role. But can these structural changes account for that well-known phenomenon that it is much easier to re-learn........Go to the Neurology news blog (Added on 11/14/2008 9:02:08 PM)

Mending broken hearts with tissue engineering

Broken hearts could one day be mended using a novel scaffold developed by MIT scientists and his colleagues.
The idea is that living heart cells or stem cells seeded onto such a scaffold would develop into a patch of cardiac tissue that could be used to treat congenital heart defects, or aid the recovery of tissue damaged by a heart attack. The biodegradable scaffold would be gradually absorbed into the body, leaving behind new tissue.
........Go to the Heart-watch-blog (Added on 11/14/2008 8:23:15 PM)

Families, friends, schools and neighborhoods

Characteristics present in the four social environments in which young people livefamilies, peers, schools, and neighborhoodscontribute both positively and negatively to whether teens misuse alcohol, with risk from one area possibly being magnified or decreased by attributes of another.
That's the finding of a new longitudinal study conducted by scientists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the University of California at........Go to the Psychology news blog (Added on 11/14/2008 5:36:15 AM)

New program teaches preschoolers reading skills

A study funded by the National Institutes of Health and other federal agencies shows that it's possible to teach preschoolers the pre-reading skills they need for later school success, while at the same time fostering the socials skills necessary for making friends and avoiding conflicts with their peers.
The findings address long standing concerns on whether preschool education programs should emphasize academic achievement or social and........Go to the Society medical news blog (Added on 11/14/2008 5:26:46 AM)

Antibody Poses A Double Threat to Breast Cancer

A small, antibody-like molecule created by scientists at Fox Chase Cancer Center can successfully attack two separate molecules on the surface of cancer cells at the same time, halting the growth of breast cancer cells in laboratory tests, the scientists say. The molecule, nickname "ALM," might be a means of slowing cancer spread or, as the scientists believe, a guidance system for delivering more aggressive drugs directly to cancer cells.........Go to the Breast-cancer-blog (Added on 11/13/2008 10:40:55 PM)

Protecting neurons could halt Alzheimer's

Scientists at Southern Methodist University (SMU) and The University of Texas at Dallas (UTD) have identified a group of chemical compounds that slow the degeneration of neurons, a condition behind old-age diseases like Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
Their findings are featured in the November 2008 edition of Experimental Biology and Medicine SMU Chemistry Professor Edward R. Biehl and UTD Biology........Go to the Neurology news blog (Added on 11/13/2008 10:28:42 PM)

Cigarette smoke could alter shape of heart

Prolonged exposure to cigarette smoke can increase levels of the stress hormone norepinephrine and enzymes in the heart that have the potential to reshape the left ventricle, as per new research at the University of Illinois at Chicago.
In a study using rats as as animal model, five weeks exposure to cigarette smoke was linked to the activation of enzymes called mitogen-activated protein kinases that govern cell growth and survival in heart........Go to the Heart-watch-blog (Added on 11/13/2008 10:23:16 PM)

A large waist can almost double your risk of premature death

Having a large waistline can almost double your risk of dying prematurely even if your body mass index is within the 'normal' range, as per a new study of over 350,000 people across Europe, published recently in the New England Journal (NEJM)
The study provides good evidence that storing excess fat around the waist poses a significant health risk, even in people not considered to be overweight or obese. It suggests that doctors should........Go to the Weight watcher's blog (Added on 11/12/2008 10:33:48 PM)

Over 50% of People With High Blood Pressure Unaware They Have Condition

More than half of people diagnosed with hypertension do not have it under control and a number of more go undiagnosed, as per research carried out at the University of Warwick.
Professor Franco Cappuccio from Warwick Medical School at the University of Warwick led the only UK team to participate in a European study examining awareness, therapy and control of high blood pressure, or hypertension. High blood pressure is an important cause of........Go to the Heart-watch-blog (Added on 11/12/2008 10:22:11 PM)

In the war against diseases, nerve cells need their armor

In a new study, scientists at the Montreal Neurological Institute (MNI), McGill University, and the Universit de Montral have discovered an essential mechanism for the maintenance of the normal structure of myelin, the protective covering that insulates and supports nerve cells (neurons). Up until now, very little was known about myelin maintenance. This new information provides vital insight into diseases such as Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and........Go to the Neurology news blog (Added on 11/12/2008 10:18:07 PM)

Preventing anemia is important to kidney disease

Maintaining sufficient red blood cell levels is important to the physical and mental health of patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD), as per a research studyappearing in the January 2009 issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society Nephrology (CJASN). The findings indicate that preventing anemia in kidney disease patients should be an integral part of their care.
Erythropoiesis-stimulating agentsmedications that elevate red........Go to the Kidney watch blog (Added on 11/11/2008 9:17:21 PM)

Airport malaria: cause for concern in the US

In a global world, significant factors affect the spread of infectious diseases, including international trade, air travel and globalized food production. "Airport malaria" is a term coined by scientists to explain the more recent spread of malaria to areas such as the United States and Europe, which some researchers credit to warmer climate changes.
Airport malaria is transmitted when a mosquito infected with the disease bites a human........Go to the Infectious disease blog (Added on 11/11/2008 9:02:52 PM)

Low Concentrations of Pesticides Can Become Toxic Mixture

Ten of the world's most popular pesticides can decimate amphibian populations when mixed together even if the concentration of the individual chemicals are within limits considered safe, as per University of Pittsburgh research published Nov. 11 in the online edition of "Oecologia." Such "cocktails of contaminants" are frequently detected in nature, the paper notes, and the Pitt findings offer the first illustration of how a large mixture of........Go to the Society medical news blog (Added on 11/11/2008 8:51:57 PM)

Low-dose aspirin may not reduce risk of CV in diabetics

Low-dose aspirin as primary prevention did not appear to significantly reduce the risk of a combined end point of coronary, cerebrovascular and peripheral vascular events in patients with type 2 diabetes, as per a new study in JAMA However, aspirin did significantly reduce the combination of fatal coronary and fatal cerebrovascular events. The article is being released early online Sunday, November 9 to coincide with its scientific presentation........Go to the Heart-watch-blog (Added on 11/9/2008 10:15:50 PM)

Early-warning blood test before heart attack strikes

A team of Johns Hopkins biochemists has identified a mixed bag of five key proteins out of thousands secreted into blood draining from the heart's blood vessels that may together or in certain quantities form the basis of a far more accurate early warning test than currently in use of impending heart attack in people with severely reduced blood flow, or ischemia.
The work, involving more than a dozen researchers and taking more than a year........Go to the Heart-watch-blog (Added on 11/9/2008 10:13:28 PM)

Achilles' heel in pancreatic cancer

UC Davis Cancer Center scientists have discovered a metabolic deficiency in pancreas cancer cells that can be used to slow the progress of the deadliest of all cancers.
Reported in the recent issue of the International Journal of Cancer, study results indicate that pancreas cancer cells cannot produce the amino acid arginine, which plays an essential role in cell division, immune function and hormone regulation. By depleting arginine levels........Go to the Cancer-blog (Added on 11/6/2008 7:45:20 PM)

Age is not a key factor in cancer survival

Age is not an independent factor in cancer survival rates and should not influence decisions about how to treat older patients, as per a research studyin the recent issue of IJCP, the Independent Journal of Clinical Practice
A team of hospital and University-based scientists from Barcelona, Spain, carried out a detailed study of more than 200 patients diagnosed with cancer.
"We observed that there were many factors that influence survival........Go to the Cancer-blog (Added on 11/6/2008 6:15:53 PM)

Quality Of Life After Breast Cancer Treatment

Opting for less damaging therapys, staying active and learning about the warning signs of lymphedema: that's how women with breast cancer can avoid developing chronic lymphedema, as per the German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG). Women can learn more about how to protect themselves from this common and distressing adverse effect of therapy as well as handle the condition at the Institute's website,........Go to the Breast-cancer-blog (Added on 11/6/2008 6:13:23 PM)

Psychoses among migrant groups

Scientists examining the occurrence of psychoses among migrant groups have shown a raised incidence for all black and ethnic minority subgroups compared with white British counterparts, and reveal that the risk of psychoses for first and second generations varies by ethnicity. Findings from the East London First Episode Psychosis Study, which recommend that further research should focus on differential rates of psychoses by ethnicity, rather........Go to the Psychology news blog (Added on 11/4/2008 10:53:08 PM)

Technology gives 3-D view of human coronary arteries

For the first time scientists are getting a detailed look at the interior of human coronary arteries, using an optical imaging technique developed at the Wellman Center for Photomedicine at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). In their report in the journal JACC: Cardiovascular Imaging, the research team describes how optical frequency-domain imaging (OFDI) gives three-dimensional, microscopic views of significant segments of patients'........Go to the Heart-watch-blog (Added on 11/17/2008 10:13:44 PM)

When You Look at a Face, You Look Nose First

While general wisdom says that you look at the eyes first in order to recognize a face, UC San Diego computer researchers now report that you look at the nose first.
The nose may be the where the information about the face is balanced in all directions, or the optimal viewing position for face recognition, the scientists from UC San Diego's Jacobs School of Engineering propose in a paper recently reported in the journal Psychological........Go to the Neurology news blog (Added on 11/14/2008 9:42:24 PM)

Tiny backpacks for cells

MIT engineers have outfitted cells with tiny "backpacks" that could allow them to deliver chemotherapy agents, diagnose tumors or become building blocks for tissue engineering.
Michael Rubner, director of MIT's Center for Materials Science and Engineering and senior author of a paper on the work that appeared online in Nano Letters on Nov. 5, said he believes this is the first time anyone has attached such a synthetic patch to a cell.
The........Go to the Cancer-blog (Added on 11/14/2008 8:20:06 PM)

Relationships with caregivers key to children's stress

How children are affected by out-of-home care depends not only on the qualities of their teacher and the classroom, but also on the nature of the children's relationship with their caregivers. That's the finding of a new study on the level of the stress hormone cortisol in children in full-day child care.
Cortisol, the primary stress hormone in humans, tends to be at its highest levels in the early morning and gradually declines over the........Go to the Psychology news blog (Added on 11/14/2008 5:34:30 AM)

Proton therapy and concurrent chemotherapy in lung cancer

Patients treated for locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer who receive chemotherapy and proton beam treatment have fewer instances of bone marrow toxicity than patients who receive the standard therapy of intensity-modulated radiation (IMRT) and concurrent chemotherapy, as per scientists from The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.
The findings were reported today at the 2008 Chicago Multidisciplinary Symposium in........Go to the Lung-cancer-blog (Added on 11/13/2008 10:45:51 PM)

Antibodies to cockroach and mouse proteins

A study released by scientists at the Columbia Center for Children's Environmental Health (CCCEH) at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health shows that developing antibodies to cockroach and mouse proteins is linked to a greater risk for wheeze, hay fever, and eczema in preschool urban children as young as three years of age. The study, reported in the November 2008 issue of the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, is the........Go to the Allergy news blog (Added on 11/13/2008 10:36:41 PM)

How eating red meat can spur cancer progression

Scientists at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, led by Ajit Varki, M.D., have shown a new mechanism for how human consumption of red meat and milk products could contribute to the increased risk of malignant tumors. Their findings, which suggest that inflammation resulting from a molecule introduced through consumption of these foods could promote tumor growth, are published online this week in advance of print........Go to the Cancer-blog (Added on 11/13/2008 10:29:39 PM)

Hormone shows promise in reversing Alzheimer's disease

Saint Louis University scientists have identified a novel way of getting a potential therapy for Alzheimer's disease and stroke into the brain where it can do its work.
"We found a unique approach for delivering drugs to the brain," says William A. Banks, M.D., professor of geriatrics and pharmacological and physiological science at Saint Louis University. "We're turning off the guardian that's keeping the drugs out of the brain".
The........Go to the Neurology news blog (Added on 11/12/2008 10:37:22 PM)

Osteoporosis care at risk in the United States

Cuts to Medicare reimbursement of DXA undermine efforts to properly diagnose and treat osteoporosis and diminish quality of patient care.
As per a paper reported in the recent issue of the Springer journal Osteoporosis International, Medicare reimbursement for dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) has been cut to levels substantially below the cost to perform the procedure. As a result, a number of physicians and clinics around the country........Go to the Society medical news blog (Added on 11/12/2008 10:24:19 PM)

Exercise improves quality of life for heart failure patients

Heart failure patients who regularly exercise fare better and feel better about their lives than do similar patients who do not work out on a regular basis, say scientists at Duke University Medical Center.
The findings, reported today at the annual meeting of the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions 2008, go a long way toward addressing concerns about the value of exercise for the nation's five million patients with heart........Go to the Heart-watch-blog (Added on 11/12/2008 10:20:14 PM)

Ties Between Cholesterol Drugs, Muscle Problems

A Michigan State University researcher is studying whether the most popular class of cholesterol-lowering drugs may cause muscle problems in users.
There is accumulating evidence that the effect statins can have on skeletal muscle - including muscle weakness, fatigue and deterioration - is underestimated, said Jill Slade, assistant professor of radiology and osteopathic manipulative medicine at MSU.
"Statins work by preventing cholesterol........Go to the Heart-watch-blog (Added on 11/11/2008 9:46:46 PM)

Teens at risk for psychosis

Emory University in Atlanta is playing a key role in the largest, most comprehensive study ever funded by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) of adolescents and young adults at risk for developing a psychotic disorder. The five-year, $25-million study joins the resources of Emory and seven other major research universities, with the goal of identifying more precise predictors for psychosis, and a better understanding of the neural........Go to the Psychology news blog (Added on 11/11/2008 9:37:04 PM)

Molecule that stops SARS

A Purdue University researcher has created a compound that prevents replication of the virus that causes SARS and could lead to a therapy for the disease.
"The outbreak of SARS in 2003 led to hundreds of deaths and thousands of illnesses, and there is currently no therapy," said Arun Ghosh, the Purdue professor that led the molecular design team. "Eventhough it is not currently a threat, there is the concern that SARS could return or be used........Go to the Infectious disease blog (Added on 11/11/2008 9:14:06 PM)

The miseries of allergies just may help prevent some cancers

There may be a silver -- and healthy -- lining to the miserable cloud of allergy symptoms: Sneezing, coughing, tearing and itching just may help prevent cancer -- especially colon, skin, bladder, mouth, throat, uterus and cervix, lung and gastrointestinal tract cancer, as per a new Cornell study.
These cancers, interestingly, involve organs that "interface directly with the external environment," said Paul Sherman, Cornell professor of........Go to the Allergy news blog (Added on 11/11/2008 9:00:07 PM)

Protein can nurture or devastate brain cells

Scientists at UT Southwestern Medical Center have uncovered new insights into the "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" nature of a protein that stimulates stem-cell maturation in the brain but, paradoxically, can also lead to nerve-cell damage.
In two separate studies in mice scheduled to appear online this week and in an upcoming issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, UT Southwestern research teams studied the protein Cdk5 and........Go to the Neurology news blog (Added on 11/11/2008 12:09:12 PM)

Statins prevent heart attacks in people with normal cholesterol levels

Cholesterol-lowering statins can also reduce inflammation that causes heart disease and have the potential to prevent tens of thousands of heart attacks each year in patients with normal cholesterol levels, scientists reported Sunday.
In a study of nearly 18,000 people with normal cholesterol levels, the drug rosuvastatin produced a 54% reduction in heart attacks, a 48% reduction in strokes, a 46% reduction in the need for angioplasty or........Go to the Heart-watch-blog (Added on 11/9/2008 2:07:49 PM)

Unusual use of toys in infancy a clue to later autism

Scientists at the UC Davis M.I.N.D. Institute have observed that infants later diagnosed with autism exhibited unusual exploration of objects long before being diagnosed. Studying a group of children at high risk for developing autism, the scientists observed that those eventually diagnosed with the disorder were more likely to spin, repetitively rotate, stare at and look out of the corners of their eyes at simple objects, including a baby........Go to the Psychology news blog (Added on 11/6/2008 8:17:47 PM)

Study finds racial disparities increasing for cancers

A new American Cancer Society study finds that recent progress in closing the gap in overall cancer mortality between African Americans and whites may be due primarily to smoking-related cancers, and that cancer mortality differences correlation to screening and therapy may still be increasing. The study, appearing in the recent issue of Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers and Prevention, is the first to analyze racial and ethnic differences between........Go to the Cancer-blog (Added on 11/6/2008 6:20:07 PM)

Lung airway cells activate vitamin D

Vitamin D is essential to good health but needs to be activated to function properly in the human body. Until recently, this activation was thought to happen primarily in the kidneys, but a new University of Iowa study finds that the activation step can also occur in lung airway cells.
The study also links the vitamin D locally produced in the lung airway cells to activation of two genes that help fight infection. The study results appear in........Go to the Lung news blog (Added on 11/4/2008 10:56:47 PM)

Healthy bones program reduces hip fractures by 37 percent

Proactive measures can reduce hip fracture rates by an average of 37.2 percent -- and as much as 50 percent -- among those at risk, as per a research studyconducted by Kaiser Permanente Southern California. The study was published online on November 3 by The Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery, a peer-evaluated journal.
The largest study of its kind, the five-year study tracked more than 625,000 male and female patients over the age of 50 in........Go to the Society medical news blog (Added on 11/4/2008 9:34:50 PM)